Gruh Finance board on Monday approved merger of housing financier with Bandhan Bank in share-swap deal. The shareholders of Gruh Finance will get 568 shares of Bandhan Bank for every 1,000 shares held. The merger is effective from January 1, 2019. The deal follows the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to impose strictures on Bandhan Bank for failing to reduce promoter shareholding as per the agreed regulatory timeline.

Bandhan Bank’s shareholding in the merged entity will drop down to around 61 per cent. Bandhan Bank’s promoters owned 82.28 per cent in the bank before the merger.

Bandhan Bank said that the board has approved the appointment of Anup Kumar Sinha as the part-time Chairman of the Bank for a period of three years pursuant to approval of RBI. Anup Kumar Sinha took charge as the part-time Chairman of the Bank with an immediate effect.

Speaking on the occasion, Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC said that the merger of Bandhan Bank and Gruh Finance will create one of India’s largest rural and semi urban platforms. He also said that the deal is a win-win situation for both companies. While Gruh will benefit by expanding geographically, Bandhan Bank gains by diversifying its portfolio, he added.

The MFI portfolio of Bandhan Bank was 58 per cent and secured portfolio was 32 per cent and this merger will help balance portfolio, said Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, CEO, Bandhan Bank. The growth of Bandhan Bank is not only organic but also inorganic, he added.

No other company could scale up Gruh better than the opportunity Bandhan Bank was offering, said Keki Mistry, CEO, HDFC.